Attachment hook for hangers



Jan. 7, 1964 E. F. umcH 3,116,360

ATTACHMENT HOOK FOR HANGERS Filed Oct. 6, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Edward F Uni/7 IN VEN TOR.

Jan. 7, 1964 E. F. URICH ATTACHMENT HOOK FOR HANGERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Filed 001',- 6, 1961 Edward F Un'c/I INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,116,860 ATTACHMENT HQGK FOR HANGERS Edward F. Urich, 11% SE. 12th Terrace, Deerfield Beach, Fla.

Filed Oct. 6, 1961, Ser. No. 143,364 Claims. (Cl. 223-85) This invention comprises a novel and useful attachment for hangers and more particularly relates to an article specifically adapted to be applied to certain conventional types of clothes hangers in order to greatly increase the utility of the hangers for supporting clothing and various other articles in various manners thereon.

It is therefore the primary object and purpose of this invention to provide an attachment capable of being quickly and releasably secured to conventional types of plastic or wire coat hangers at a variety of adjusted positions thereon whereby singly or collectively to support various articles from the coat hangers.

There are two conventional well known types of coat hangers of a general rigid plastic construction and a less expensive more flexible wire construction. Each of these types of coat hangers are specifically adapted and designed to support garments and articles of clothing, the coat hanger being shaped to particularly fit the contours of such articles. Consequently, although the coat hangers are ideally adapted for their primary function in supporting such particular types of articles, it is difficult to employ such coat hangers for supporting other articles having a different configuration. Heretofore safety pins and the like have been employed in order to provide a support means for other articles upon the coat hangers. A number of obvious disadvantages arise from such make-shift adjustments or attachments to a coat hanger.

It is therefore the primary purpose of this invention to provide a hook attachment of a simple inexpensive light weight construction which may be quickly and easily securely applied to or removed from conventional coat hangers whether of the wire or plastic type and which may be applied thereto in a variety of positions in order to effectively support in a secure manner garments and other articles from the coat hanger.

Yet another purpose of the invention is to provide a hook attachment for coat hangers as set forth in the pre ceding object in which the hook attachment is adapted for firm and secure attachment to the plastic type of coat hanger at different portions along the width of the same and either at the usual portion of maximum thickness of the hanger or at the customarily provided portions of reduced thickness therealong.

Still another purpose of the invention is to provide a hook attachment for coat hangers which shall be readily reversible upon the coat hanger yet will provide a firm and secure support device for articles to be attached to the hanger.

Yet another purpose of the invention is to provide a hook attachment for coat hangers which shall be revers ible so that either end thereof may constitute the supporting end while the other end constitutes the locking end and which shall be of slightly ditferent configuration at its opposite ends whereby to accommodate dilierent sizes of coat hangers.

Still another important purpose of the invention is to provide a coat hanger attachment in accordance with the preceding objects wherein one end of the attachment shall constitute a supporting hook structure for the device upon a coat hanger, while the other end thereof shall constitute a locking means for retaining the attachment in firm engagement upon the hanger, the locking means also functioning as a device to prevent disengagement of a support structure which can be carried by the hanger attachment.

Still another important purpose of the invention is to 3,116,865 Patented Jan. 7, 1964- lCC provide a hook attachment for coat hangers which shall be of a simple one-piece construction and wherein the necessary resiliency and elasticity may be imparted thereto either wholly or in part by the provision of slots, bores or other openings in the material of the attachment which shall also constitute a means for receiving support ele ments as desired.

These together with other objects and advantages which shall become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view showing the manner in which a suitable form of hook attachment in accordance with this invention is mounted upon a conventional plastic type of coat hanger in dilferent manners in order to selectively support various articles from the coat hanger, the normal function of the coat hanger being shown in dotted lines in this view;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged detail view in vertical transverse section taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 2-2 of FIGURE 1 and showing in dotted lines the manner in which the hook attachment of this invention is initally engaged upon the hanger and in full lines showing the full and complete seating engagement of the hanger attachment to the hanger;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the hanger attachment in accordance with FIGURES 1-3;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged detail view taken in vertical transverse section substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 4-4 of FIGURE 1 but illustrating the mounting of the hanger in a difierent position upon a different portion of the plastic coat hanger;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the hanger attachment of FIGURES 1-4 being shown applied to and mounted upon the wire type of coat hanger; and

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a slightly modified type of hanger attachment which is reversible in its mounting upon a coat hanger.

In the accompanying drawings there is disclosed two conventional types of coat hangers the numeral 10 designating as shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 4, a conventional type of plastic coat hanger while the numeral 12 as shown in FIGURE 5 designates generally the conventional wire type of coat hanger. The two forms of hanger attachments or hanger hooks in accordance with this invention as disclosed in this application are indicated generally by the numeral 14 in FIGURES 1-5 and 16 in FIGURE 6, being each equally adapted for use with either conventional type of coat hanger 10 or 12.

Considering first the structure of the conventional plastic type of coat hanger 10 it will be observed that this hanger has the usual supporting hook 20 attached to the midportion of the transverse member 22. The member 22 in cross-section, as shown in FIGURE 2 is an eye beam type of construction having laterally enlarged beads or ribs 24 and 26 at its top and bottom edges which are integrally connected by a plate-like web portion 28 therebetween. Further, at convenient portions along its lateral extent, the cross member 22 is provided with cut-out portions 3% providing in their top surface an inlet opening 32 and thus defining a laterally enlarged slot as at 34. The rim of this slot is formed by a bead which constitutes a continuation of the top bead 24 as shown clearly in FIG- URE 1, this bead being indicated by the numeral 36 and being shown in use in FIGURE 4.

Usually the coat hanger 10 is inserted inside the shoulder portion of a garment as indicated in dotted lines in FIGURE 1 to support the garment thereon. In other instances, however, use is made of the recessed portions 30 as for example supporting such garments as slips by hanging the shoulder straps therein. In any event, a coat hanger of this type has a rather limited utility in that it is specifically designed to accommodate and hold certain types of garments in their appropriate shape and there are thus a limited number of positions in which garments may be mounted thereon, as Well as a limited variety of garments which may be supported effectively by the hanger.

In accordance with this invention, the hanger attachments 14 and 16 are utilized to provide additional garment supports at any desired location along the hanger 10. In FIGURE 1 the hanger attachment 14 is shown for engagement over and upon the top and bottom beads or ribs 24 and 2.6 so that garments or other articles may be attached at any convenient location along the width of the hanger by appropriate support elements attached to the hanger attachments. In addition, FIGURE 1 shows the manner in which the same device is utilized with the recess portion 36, by engagement over the beads or ribs 36 and 26 to additionally support articles at these locations along the hanger.

Referring now particularly to the construction of the hanger attachment 14, as shown especially in FIGURES 3 and 4, it will be seen that this attachment is formed by a single one-piece body of a suitable resilient and elastic material of a gene-rally (Z-shaped configuration. The body is a plate like member and conveniently may be of a plastic nature although in some instances other materials such as sheet metal clips or the like may be found to be satisfactory.

In any event, the body consists of an elongated stem 40- having a pair of laterally projecting generally parallel arms 42 and 44 at or adjacent the opposite end portions of the stem and upon the same side thereof. Thus, the arms 42 and 44 lie generally in the same plane as the stem 40 but extend to one side of the latter and although not necessarily parallel to each other are disposed in a generally side-by-side relation.

The hanger attachment 14 is preferably provided with a variety of article supporting means. Thus, as shown in FIGURES 2-4, this article supporting means may consist of one or more slots 46 which extend into the stem of the body from that side of the same which is opposite the arms 42 and 44. Obviously any desired number of these support slots can be provided which, as shown in FIG- URE 4, enable a strap or the like as at 50 to be disposed therein and thus serve to support an article thereby such as a garment 2 shown in FIGURE 1.

Additional support means such as the bores 54 are provided in the stern itself or in either or both of the arms 42 and 44 at desired locations therealong in order to receive therethrough strings or other members such as wire males 56 or the like, see FIGURE 5, by which further elements such as clothespins 58 may in turn be supported and serve to carry various articles.

At least one of the arms and in some instances both of the arms 42 and 44 are provided with a retaining hook in the form of a projection 60 having inturned fingers 62 which projection extends toward the other arm with the finger extending towards the stem. The proportions and dimensions of this construction are such that there is formed by the associated arm, projection and finger a recess, notch or seat 64 having a contour adapted to conform to and readily embrace the outer exterior surface of the bead 24 or 36 as shown clearly in FIGURES 2 and 4, with the inturned finger 62 engaging beneath this bead and thus serving to securely attach the hanger attachment to the coat hanger. The manner in which the invention is removably attached to the coat hanger is indicated more clearly in FIGURE 2 wherein the body line showing indicates the manner in which the hook is initially engaged with the bead 24 or 36 as the case may be with the attachment then being rotated in a counterclockwise direction to the solid line position shown in FIGURE 2 or 4 FIGURE 4 at which time the lower bead 26 is seated against the stem portion of the attachment.

In addition to the slot means 46 previously mentioned, there is provided a further slot means as at 64 upon the exterior surface of either or both of the arms 42 or 44 adjacent the ends thereof which are remote from the stem which likewise serve as support members. Finally, the stem itself upon that side which lies between the two arms is provided with inwardly extending slots as at 66 and 63 which serve similar purposes depending upon which end of the hanger attachment is disposed upwardly. With the device arranged as in FIGURE 2, it will be observed that the lower bead 26 is pressed into the entrance of the slot 68 by engagement of the lower arm 44 with the lower bead 26 so that this lower bead serves to block the entrance and thus retain any support element which is placed in the slot 68.

It will be observed that as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, the other arm 44 has a generally inclined surface as at 7% which is so angulated that upon slight distortion of the arm that bead 26 may be forced into the entrance of the slot 68 and be held between this surface 70 and an outwardly projecting portion 72 of the stem and slot 68 which thus will slightly overlie the lower rib of the bead 26 as shown in FIGURE 2.

It will be appreciated that the inherent resiliency or elasticity of the material of the hanger attachment will enable the necessary distortion at either of the arms in order to effect the proper seating engagement of the appropriate portion of the plastic hanger it into the seats thus provided to thereby resiliently but releasably retain the device securely seated and locked upon the hanger body.

The hanger atttachment is so constructed that when it is applied to the coat hanger 16 at the relatively thick portion thereof by engagement upon the ribs or beads 24 and 26, the hanger attachment 14 will thus be seated upon the bead at the rib 24 and also be seated and locked to the head 26. In this position any of the support means such as the slots 46, 64, 68 or 66 may be utilized in conjunction with the support means 54. Thus a great variety of support arrangements are provided by this device since in the mounting as shown in FIGURE 2 the hanger 10 may be positioned at a large number of spaced positions with respect to the supporting hook 26 of the plastic hanger 10.

When the hanger attachment is applied to the notched or recess portions 30 of the coat hanger, as shown in FIGURE 4, the head 36 at the bottom of the recess 30 now constitutesthe upper bead upon which the retaining hook of the upper arm 42 is engaged. In this position due to the decreased thickness of that portion of the coat hanger to which the device is applied, the lower head 26 no longer engages the other arm 44, but is seated in an appropriately positioned recess or notch 74 which position in the side of the stern. In this position, it will be observed that the previously mentioned slot 66 is likewise covered by the web 28 of the plastic coat hanger.

It is within the concept of this invention to provide both of the arms 42 and 44 of such configuration thateach may constitute and have a retaining means thereon so as to permit the device to be readily reversed upon a coat hanger with either of the arms thus constituting the supporting arm and the other arm constituting the locking arm for the hanger attachment upon the coat hanger. This will involve merely the appropriately concourting of the surfaces of the arms which constitute the retaining seats by which the hanger is secured to the beaded portion of the coat hanger.

Shown in FIGURE 6 is a modified construction of the hanger attachment. The form of hanger attachment 16 is very similar to that shown at 14 in the preceding figures of the drawings. However, there is to be emphasized in this form of hanger attachment the above mentioned simi lar construction of the pair of lateral arms here indicated at 80 and 82, each of which has the retaining hook portion 84 thereon. The stem portion 86 of the hanger attachment is likewise provided with various bores or openings 88 therein constituting means by which support elements may be attached to the hanger attachment body, as well as with appropriate recesses as at 96 and 92 which enable the device in either position to receive the lower bead 26 when the upper bead 36 is received in the retaining recess of the appropriate hanger arm 80 or 82.

Corresponding to the slots 46 on the exterior surface of the stem there is provided a single slot 94 extending generally parallel or in the direction of the extent of the stem which has a single inlet entrance 96. The slot 94, 96 is thus T-shaped in cross-section with the opposite ends of the slot lying in opposite sides of the inlet 96. With this arrangement the device can be readily reversed upon the coat hanger so that a support element may be hung in the slot in either position of its mounting.

Referring now to the arrangement shown in FIGURE 5 it will be seen that the coat hanger 12 can be readily engaged upon its bottom transverse member 98 by either of the forms of hanger attachment 14 or 16. For that purpose, the slot 66 previously mentioned of the hanger 14 or an appropriately corresopndingly positioned slot of the hanger 16 may be engaged upon the cross member 98 to thus support the device with any of the article support means such as the bores or slots previously mentioned being utilized to support the article supports therein.

It will thus be apparent that either of the two types of hanger attachments forming the subject matter of this invention may be used with either type of conventional coat hanger or 12. Further, they can be supported in a variety of manners upon these coat hangers so as to greatly increase the utility and the variety of manners in which they may support and adjustab-ly carry various articles upon the coat hangers.

It is an important feature of this invention that the various openings such as the bores 54, the slots 46, the openings 66 and 68, the slot 64 and the like all serve the joint functions of first constituting a means for attaching to the hangers 14 and 16 article support means and also serve as a means to impart increased resiliency and elasticity to the structure or material of the body of the hanger. Thus, as will be readily apparent from a considenation of FIGURES 2 and 4, when the slot 66 is not in use for receiving a support element, it is imparting elasticity to the associated portion of the body of the hanger attachment to facilitate the engagement of the resilient retention of the associated arm of the device upon the associated structure of the coat hanger. The same is true of :the various other slots.

By means of this device, there is provided a very low expense, a very simple, effective and unobtrusive attachment which will greatly increase the utility and service ability of conventional coat hangers for supporting not only clothing of the type for which they are initially and primarily intended, but numerous other articles of clothing and other articles in various conventional ways.

in both forms of the invention, the arms 42 or 44 of the hanger attachment 14 or the arms 80 or 82 of the member 16 may slide longitudinally upon the coat hanger in the seat 32 so that they may be securely retained between the parallel beads 24 and 36. This arrangement serves to more securely anchor the attachment to the coat hanger against possible disengagement as well as further reinforcing or strengthening the structure of the hanger attachments.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. An attachment for coat hangers comprising a onepiece, generally C-shaped body of a resilient and elastic material including an elongated stem with laterally extending generally parallel arms at opposite ends and upon one side of said stem, a retaining hook on at least one of said arms projecting towards said other arm and said stem, and forming with its associated arm a seating notch for embracingly engaging a flattened portion of a coat hanger, means on one edge of said stem for supporting articles therefrom, cut-out portions on an opposite edge of said stem for increasing the resiliency thereof, locking means on said stem including said other arm and a projection on said stem extending toward said other arm cooperating with said retaining hook and clampingly receiving a portion of a coat hanger for securing said attachment upon the same, said cut-out portions including slot means intermediate said seating notch and locking means comprising additional securement means for said attachment upon a different type coat hanger and an additional seating notch on said stem adjacent said slot means cooperating with said retaining hook for securing said attachment upon another portion of said first named coat hanger.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein additional supporting means are disposed on each of said arms.

3. The combination of claim 1 including a slot having an entrance opening into said body from said locking means for receiving therein a support element, said locking means being engageable with a coat hanger to which the attachment is secured whereby to block the entrance of said slot.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein said support means includes a slot means constituting means for increasing the resiliency of said body and for supporting articles therefrom, said slot means comprising a pair of spaced slots.

5. The combination of claim 1 wherein said support means includes a slot means constituting mean-s for in creasing the resiliency of said body and for supporting articles therefrom, said slot means being T-shaped and having a single entrance opening and having ends lying on opposite sides of said entrance opening whereby said attachment may be reversibly positioned on a coat hanger.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,386,059 Potoczky Oct. 2, 1945 2,888,725 Cudd June 2, 1959 2,891,705 Gray June 23, 1959 2,908,955 Brown Oct. 20, 1959 

1. AN ATTACHMENT FOR COAT HANGERS COMPRISING A ONEPIECE, GENERALLY C-SHAPED BODY OF A RESILIENT AND ELASTIC MATERIAL INCLUDING AN ELONGATED STEM WITH LATERALLY EXTENDING GENERALLY PARALLEL ARMS AT OPPOSITE ENDS AND UPON ONE SIDE OF SAID STEM, A RETAINING HOOK ON AT LEAST ONE OF SAID ARMS PROJECTING TOWARDS SAID OTHER ARM AND SAID STEM, AND FORMING WITH ITS ASSOCIATED ARM A SEATING NOTCH FOR EMBRACINGLY ENGAGING A FLATTENED PORTION OF A COAT HANGER, MEANS ON ONE EDGE OF SAID STEM FOR SUPPORTING ARTICLES THEREFROM, CUT-OUT PORTIONS ON AN OPPOSITE EDGE OF SAID STEM FOR INCREASING THE RESILIENCY THEREOF, LOCKING MEANS ON SAID STEM INCLUDING SAID OTHER ARM AND A PROJECTION ON SAID STEM EXTENDING TOWARD SAID OTHER ARM COOPERATING WITH SAID RETAINING HOOK AND CLAMPINGLY RECEIVING A PORTION OF A COAT HANGER FOR SECURING SAID ATTACHMENT UPON THE SAME, SAID CUT-OUT PORTIONS INCLUDING SLOT MEANS INTERMEDIATE SAID SEATING NOTCH AND LOCKING MEANS COMPRISING ADDITIONAL SECUREMENT MEANS FOR SAID ATTACHMENT UPON A DIFFERENT TYPE COAT HANGER AND AN ADDITIONAL SEATING NOTCH ON SAID STEM ADJACENT SAID SLOT MEANS COOPERATING WITH SAID RETAINING HOOK FOR SECURING SAID ATTACHMENT UPON ANOTHER PORTION OF SAID FIRST NAMED COAT HANGER. 